Love Ain't For Keepin'
by Vernie
Summary: Sonny's new boyfriend is bad news, but no one sees it except Chad. Will he be able to save her in time? Slight profanity and adult situations.


**Love Ain't for Keeping**

Daniel Adams was perfect. He was someone every girl wanted to be with and every dude wanted to hang with. The 18-year-old had finally gotten his start in Hollywood - the coveted spot on _Mackenzie Falls _as Mackenzie's new BFF, David. Ferguson had decided to leave the show and had therefore had been written out of the plotline.

Chad Dylan Cooper instantly acknowledged the new talent and had hired him personally to take the empty spot on the show. The two boys had really hit it off at first, talking cars and hitting the underage clubs. Three weeks after being hired, however, Daniel had done something completely unforgivable that had torn their friendship apart: He had asked Sonny Munroe on a date.

Chad had warned him about dating Sonny Munroe. She was a Random and she was "funny" - not a real actress like those at the _Falls_ were supposed to date. Daniel had laughed off his comment, saying Sonny was too cute and perfect not to snatch up.

One week later the two were going steady.

Thirteen measly weeks later the guy had given Sonny a _promise ring_ - a sentiment that they would be together _forever. _The whole thought of it made Chad sick to his stomach.

As if that weren't bad enough, the fact that Daniel and Sonny had chosen the _Mac Falls _set to hang out at made it ever worse. Watching those two canoodle everyday between takes made Chad often retreat to his dressing room for an exciting afternoon of Mad Libs.

Feeling exasperated, Chad had spoken to his producer, his director, and finally Mr. Condor about his idea of firing the jerk but was shot down thrice. Ratings were through the roof and apparently viewers not only loved the character of David, but the actor who portrayed him as well. Daniel's squeaky clean image was one that every parent approved of, what with his vow to chastity until marriage and all of the fund raisers he had taken part of for publicity. The boy could really work the media, Chad would give him that.

Sonny had eaten it all up, too. He'd carry her bags for her, pay for her lunch, open car doors, and even change burnt-out light bulbs in her dressing room. She seemed so blissfully happy with Daniel. Yes, the guy seemed perfect and everyone else working at Condor Studios thought so too. However, sweet little Sonny Munroe had no idea who he was dealing with. She was too pure, too naïve, and Chad knew that the real reason that he hated Daniel so much was because he was in love with her. It had taken him several months to finally allow himself to admit it. Now that his mind was constantly filled with those loving thoughts of the girl, it made Sonny and Daniel's relationship even more hard to bare.

Despite the constant tension between the two young _Mackenzie Falls _actors, Daniel seemed completely oblivious to Chad's hatred of him. The douche bag even had the nerve to discuss his relationship with Sonny to Chad in detail. This particular day, Daniel stood next to the vanity mirror with Chad as the two boys fixed the ties of their private school uniforms. "Dude, I totally got to second base last night," Daniel bragged. "It took a lot of persuading but she finally gave in. That's the beauty of getting your girl a stupid promise ring. It's like a free pass for messing around."

Chad looked at himself in the mirror, noticing the vein popping out in his neck and the sudden reddening of his face. His tie crumpled in his had and he tightened his fist around it in rage.

Daniel went on. "I think I might even get her to put out this weekend. My buds and I are throwing this crazy party at my beach house. No adult supervision, just lots of booze and music. All the ground work I've been laying the past four months will finally pay o-"

His statement was cut short as Chad's fist met Daniel's jaw. In a matter of seconds Daniel was pummeled to the ground and lying on the floor. Chad sat atop him as the boy shielded his face from the onslaught of flying fists connecting with it.

"Chad!" Chastity ran from the set where her scene was being shot, screaming as two of the sound technicians pulled Chad away from the bleeding and battered boy.

Chad was still furious and a bit confused himself by what had just happened. He had snapped in the midst of his blind fury. The young actor stared at the small smears of blood that now covered his knuckles in disbelief. The next thing he knew he was sitting in Mr. Condor's office waiting for his dad to pick him up.

"And you're to be suspended from the show until further notice," Mr. Condor was speaking to him but Chad was in a trance. "You're lucky Daniel and his family aren't pressing charges. When _Tween Weekly _catches wind of this, they'll have a field day with it. You'll never work in this town again!"

Chad said little until his father finally arrived at the studio to pick him up, thinking about what Daniel had said earlier. Murphy, the studio's security guard, accompanied father and son outside to Mr. Cooper's SUV. The drive home was uncomfortable and soon Chad's father pulled his car into the drive of their lavish house. He sat still for a moment, sighing heavily before finally saying, "Just go up to your room. I was in the middle of a business meeting when Mr. Condor called me, we'll have to talk about this later."

Chad exited the vehicle and SUV raced away. He walked into the house quietly, slowly climbing the spiral staircase which led to his bedroom. Once inside, Chad lie down on his bed, burying his face into a pillow and screaming at the top of his lungs into it. He had never felt so frustrated and hopeless in his life. His job was in jeopardy and the girl he was in love with - the sweetest girl in the entire world - was promised to a complete jerk who was only using her.

**II**

That Friday Chad was still banned from being on the grounds of Condor Studios. Due to his suspension, he had to be written out of the next couple of episodes of _Mackenzie Falls, _which had given Daniel a chance for more screen time and his own story arc on the show. Chad hated that. Somehow things had always worked out in Daniel's favor.

However, today Chad had more important things on his mind. Tomorrow was the party at the beach where Daniel had planned to bring Sonny to seduce her. The stupid shit wasn't in love with Sonny and Chad knew he would have to warn her of what Daniel had in mind. Heaving a sigh, he finally did what he knew he needed to do. He picked up the phone and dialed Sonny's number.

"Chad?" her voice sounded surprised when she answered her phone.

"Hey Sonny, what's up?" Chad asked nervously and unsurely.

"_What's up_? Three days ago you punched out my boyfriend that's _what's up_. You know you have a lot of nerve calling me after everything that happened."

"Listen, I only called because you need to know something." Chad took a deep breath. "The reason I punched Daniel is because….because he's going to try to sleep with you. And you can't do it Sonny. The guy is a fake; he's only trying to use you."

He could almost hear her frowning through the phone. "You are a real piece of work Chad Dylan Cooper! Why don't you just admit that you're jealous of Daniel? Someone else is finally in the limelight and you hate it." Her once sweet voice was now filled with bitterness.

"Sonny, I'm only telling you this because I care about you and don't want to see you get hurt," Chad pleaded.

"Good bye Chad," Sonny replied, hanging up the phone without giving him another chance to explain himself.

Chad slammed his cell phone on his desk in frustration. He took a nearby lamp and smashed it to the floor before grabbing hold of a bookcase and toppling it over, sending books and papers flying across his room. He sunk down onto his bed, burying is face in the palms of his hand. He had completely screwed up everything.

**III**

Chad stood uncertainly on the beach where Daniel's party was presently going down. Daniel had purchased a house there a week after accepting his role on _Mackenzie Falls. _It seemed like a bold purchase at the time for someone who was so new to Hollywood, but the spot soon became one of the hottest hangouts of stars under 21 due to the constant lack of adult supervision. Chad had remembered partying with him there a few times and that Daniel had a seemingly endless supply of liquor that Chad had refused to partake in. He could only hope that Sonny had been as wise.

"Hey Cooper, what are you doing here?" Skyler, obviously already drunk, asked with a grin as Chad approached the bonfire, which was now burning furiously on the beach.

"Where's Sonny?"

The boy simply shrugged and stumbled away, whisky bottle in hand.

"Oh my god Chad, what on Earth are _you _doing here?" Tawni Hart, whose sobriety was less questionable, asked when Chad had spotted her chatting with some other kids and pulled her aside.

"That seems to be the question of the night," Chad muttered.

"Well, you show up to a guy's party who you just beat the crap out a few days ago, what do you expect?"

"I need to find Sonny," Chad went on, ignoring Tawni's previous comment. "Where is she?"

"I don't know. She went inside with Daniel about 20 minutes ago."

"What!"

"Settle down Chad, they're probably just making out or something. That's what a dating couple does," Tawni replied nonchalantly, but Chad was already scaling the steps of the beach house.

He pushed through the crowds of kids and trash, loud music blaring in his ears as he sought out the brown-haired girl. He started down the hallway, past kissing couples and dancing drunks before arriving at the door of the room he knew belonged to Daniel and knocking loudly on it.

"Go away," a voice rudely answered.

Chad knocked again, then tried turning the handle of the door but it was locked. Not wasting another minute, he threw his weight up against the door with all the force he could muster, breaking it wide open. What he saw before him shocked him - two naked bodies tangled in the sheets. Daniel hovered above a blonde, and quite horrified, girl.

"What the hell Cooper?" Daniel screamed, the girl beneath him clutching the sheets of the bed around her naked frame.

Chad stood wide-eyed as a few snickering teens next to him stood with their cell phones, snapping pictures of the tryst. Chad squeezed through the amateur paparazzi and quickly disappeared from the party.

**IV**

After Chad had raced from Daniel's beach house, he found himself wandering quietly down the beach in the moonlight where he spotted a figure sitting a few feet from the crashing waves. Knowing instantly who it was by her silhouette, Chad slowly approached Sonny and took a seat next to her.

"You were right Chad," Sonny said, not looking the slightest surprised to see the boy there. She rolled her promise ring between her index finger and thumb before tossing it out into the waves. "Daniel is a jerk. I guess you're happy now."

"Why would I be happy?"

"Daniel never loved me, it was just like you said. He was only using me, so go ahead and rub it in." She pulled legs up to her body, tucking her knees under her chin and allowing tears to stream down her face.

"Sonny, you didn't….did you?" he asked her.

She quickly shook her head. "He wanted to. He pulled me into his room and tried to convince me that if I didn't have sex with him it meant that I didn't…I didn't love him. I told him I wasn't ready and he got mad…" Sobs reeked the young girl's body as she buried her face into her hands. Chad quickly placed an arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her against him.

"It's okay, Sonny. The guy was an asshole. He fooled everyone."

Now practically sitting in his lap, Sonny gripped the front of Chad's button-up shirt as she cried into it. "Everyone but you." Her voice sounded muffled as she spoke into his chest. "I believed everything he said - I believed he really loved me and in the end he just wanted to get laid."

Chad rest his cheek against Sonny's forehead. "I'm sorry. It's his loss. Guys like him shouldn't be so lucky to have a girl like you" he said, soothing Sonny until her sobs began to die down.

When she finally unburied her face from his now damp shirt, she stared intently into his blue eyes. "You risked your job punching Daniel. You came all the way out here for me. Why Chad?"

He took a deep breath, reaching down too brush the tear-soaked tendrils of hair from her face as he gazed back at her warm brown eyes. "Because…because I love you," he finally told her the truth.

Her mouth went agape as she stared silently. She was either shocked or upset, he wasn't sure which one.

"I'm sorry…" he offered. "I know I shouldn't have said that."

"Did you mean it?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"Then what's there to be sorry for?"

But before he could answer, her soft lips were pressing against his own. He could feel her long, wet lashes brush against his cheeks as he wrapped his arms around her tightly and protectively. Chad relished in the surreal feeling of Sonny Munroe's tender lips kissing his. When their lips finally separated she was smiling.

"Wow…" Chad smiled back, his eyes gleaming as he shook himself.

"What are you doing?" Sonny asked with a smile.

"Making sure I'm not dreaming."

He grinned at Sonny as he took her hand, helping her to a stand and then placing a quick kiss on her forehead. The two strolled along the sand, their arms wrapped around each other's waist. The moonlight shone down on the couple and they continued to wander down the beach until the sounds of the party had completely faded away.

**The End**

**A/N: I blame my Channy withdrawals for my sudden inspiration to write. I guess some good comes from it (though I'd prefer the real thing).**


End file.
